I Do It For You Too
by fanatic218
Summary: She can't keep going like this, but there's no other way. Unrequited Jessica/Hotch with a touch of H/P.


Hotch was just finishing up in the kitchen when a knock on the door sounded through the apartment. Immediately, Jack jumped off the couch, forgetting to pause his video game in the process, and ran to the door. Hotch reminded him to check the peephole before swinging the door open right as his son got there.

"Aunt Jessica!" the eight year old yelled and he stretched on his tippy toes to undo the chain and let his aunt inside. She pulled him into a hug right away, careful not to accidentally hit him with her purse and overnight bag.

"Hey big guy! How was school today?" she asked, dropping her bags down on the chair around the corner. It was all part of her well-oiled routine when she came to the Hotchner apartment. From the corner of her eye she saw Aaron cleaning up whatever he had just made in the kitchen before making his way over to greet her.

"Thanks for coming," Hotch said warmly as he gave her a quick hug. "I made some chicken - Jack's request - so I hope you haven't ate already. Everything's all ready for you guys," he said as he slipped his cell phone into his pocket and checked his watch. "I'd eat with you but I have to head out in a few minutes, we're already on a strict time schedule." Jessica brushed it off with a wave of her hand.

"That's what I'm here for! Don't worry about it, more food for you, right Jack?" She turned to face her nephew so Hotch wouldn't see the fake smile she was throwing on.

"Yeah! Daddy said I need to eat lots to grow big like Agent Morgan!" Both adults laughed, and Jessica failed to keep herself from a furtive glance over at her former brother-in-law leaning against the counter, a look of fatherly pride coloring his usually stoic features. Jessica ruffled Jack's hair and finally looked directly at Hotch for the first time since she walked in.

"How long do you think you'll be gone this time?" Not that it ever mattered. Having no children herself, she loved her time with Jack more than anything. And no matter how inconvenient, she could never say no to anything Hotch asked her to do.

"I should be back the morning after tomorrow. It's more of a consult than a real case, so Emily and I only have to be on the ground for a day," he said flippantly as he crossed the apartment to grab his own go bag and check the pocket for his gun and badge.

"It's just you and Emily?" Jessica asked, trying to keep her voice as level as possible. She distracted herself by going into the kitchen to bring the two plates Hotch made up into the small dining room. Jack, oblivious to the adults conversation, was about to dive right into his food when Jessica reminded to grab his water and a napkin.

"Yeah, since it's a consult only two of us have to go out, and it's both of our rotations. There's a potential language barrier in this one too so I need her on this one more than ever." Jessica nodded absentmindedly. Hotch continued. "You remember Emily, right? The one who just came back from London? She was gone for a few years but came back around Jack's birthday a few months ago." She remembered. She remembered being surprised to see her again, since Hotch never mentioned her coming back from Europe. They had met once before, at Haley's funeral, so Jessica had immediately recognized the brunette agent. She also remembered how much Hotch had lit up upon the woman's arrival, the hug between them lasting a beat longer than was comfortable to watch.

"Oh yeah, of course I remember," Jessica said when she noticed Hotch had paused for her to answer his question. "Tell her I say hi," she added politely. Hotch nodded, looking at something at his phone before slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking over to his son.

"Be good for Aunt Jessica, ok bud? I'll call before you go to sleep tonight." Hotch said dropping a kiss to his son's head and squeezing his shoulder.

"Bye dad, love you!" Jack said, causing Jessica to smile when Hotch said it back. He turned to Jessica.

"Thanks again, I know this was last minute. Call me if you need anything." And with that and friendly squeeze to her upper arm, which made her tingle much more than she wanted it to, he left the apartment with instructions for Jessica to lock up behind him. She took a moment to rest her head on the door after he left, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath before turning sharply on her heels.

"Ok! Who's ready for dinner?"

Hotch called to check in, Jack was in bed already asleep, and Jessica has just finished cleaning up the game the two of them had played before bed. Jessica sat down on the couch and picked up her book, trying to keep her mind from being idol as she pulled the blanket on the back of the couch over her legs. She couldn't stay distracted long as her eye landed on a picture on the edge of the coffee table. It was from Jack's birthday two months ago, as the boy was blowing out his candles. Jessica remembered taking the shot. For the first time though, she noticed the rest of the picture. Hotch was behind Jack, his hand on the back of his son's chair, his other arm sound the back of the returned agent, Emily. They were both smiling down at Jack, and in comparison, everyone else in the edge of the picture faded from the shot. It looked friendly enough, but something about the moment looking back on it made Jessica's stomach tight and her breath catch in her chest.

She put the book down and closed her eyes, trying for the umpteenth time to fight off tears. There were always moments in the day when she could pretend. She could get away with being happy pretending that when she came over to see Jack and dinner was on the table that she was coming home, or that the occasional hug she got from Hotch meant just as much to him as it did to her. She could even sometimes pretend, when sitting alone in his living room after Jack was in bed, that when he came home late from a case that he would ask her to stay.

A tear slipped down her cheek as reality set in that it would never happen. For years, she had ignored that feeling in her gut, playing it off as affection for her beloved nephew and deep respect for Hotch's work. She had always understood his job in the BAU better than Haley had, something she sometimes resented her late sister for on a bad day, always hating herself in the morning after those thoughts. She hadn't named her feelings for Hotch until he had broken things off with Beth, a nice enough woman she could never really fully embrace. Again, Jessica had played that off as not wanting her sister's role in Jack's life replaced, but she also knew that there was a more selfish reason. She loved Aaron.

The soft ping of her phone receiving a text pulled her out of her head. Jessica held her breath seeing his name on the screen, telling herself not to be hopeful.

 _Jack said you let him win the game_ _tonight_ _and he had a lot of fun - thanks for doing this for him_.

More tear silent fell down Jessica's face. _I do this for you, too._

 _A/N ~ Ta da! I've always liked Jessica (basically because it's impossible not to after now supportive she's been throughout the whole show), but don't ship her with Hotch. During the episode with her father developing Alzheimer's, it starts with her looking like she's about to say something to Hotch before changing her mind, and until it came out that her dad was sick, my mind was already going down the unrequited love route. There hasn't been a story from this perspective on the Hotch-Jack-Jessica relationship before, so I thought why not. And had to throw a little H/P in there because I'm still rooting for Emily to come back. Hope you liked it, please R &R!_

 _xoxo fanatic218_


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